


find new ways (to fall apart)

by orphan_account



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Infinity War who??? Idk her, Light Angst, civil war never happened, klaus’s briefcase gets fucked up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-27
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-07-21 04:37:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19995985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Klaus closes his eyes in war-torn Vietnam, and opens them in modern day New York.For a moment, it doesn’t quite register.(or: klaus’s briefcase gets fucked up and yeets him into the mcu. it’s probably for the best.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi!! i have no idea what i’m doing. this whole thing is a fever dream. i just wanted an excuse to write klaus & tony being best fucking friends. 
> 
> title taken from we are young by fun. i recently rediscovered that song and its a bop
> 
> just pretend the timelines and details are correct ok? in this au steve tells tony abt his parents asap and tony's only alone at the beginning bc the rest of the avengers are on a mission. thanos ddoesnt exist.

Klaus closes his eyes in war-torn Vietnam, and opens them in modern day New York.

For a moment, it doesn't quite register.

The briefcase sparks and sputters in his arms. It feels hot on his skin. Klaus does not let go. 

Klaus blinks. Echoes of blue light flash at him behind his eyelids. His tear-soaked lashes stick together, and when he opens his eyes again, there is an armored hand in his face. 

“Stand down!” A commanding voice rings out. The blue light in the palm heats up with a whine, and Klaus does not react. 

"Alright, I'm only gonna ask this once," The man attached to the hand says. "Who are you and how did you get into the tower?"

Klaus sits and aches. He does not make an effort to answer.

The armored man stands with a hand in his face and watches as Klaus looks right through him, at people only he can see. Klaus cries silent tears, and the hand lowers. 

"FRIDAY, stay alert," The man says, and the gauntlet on his hand retracts into an unassuming wristwatch. He sits back on his haunches and looks down at Klaus. Klaus dimly registers that he's sitting on the floor. "Hey, so you look really depressed and not like an active threat, so. Against my better judgement, let's start over. What's your name?" An easy enough question, but he's eyeing the dog tags around Klaus's neck. They're Dave's. His own are still in Dave's pocket, half a world and fifty years away. Klaus pushed the thought down.

Klaus looks up at Tony with big, sad eyes. He looks nice enough, with blue tinted sunglasses over dark lashes, and meticulous facial hair. He’s gaunt, and tired in the way that comes only from sleepless nights and screaming dreams. Klaus would know. Klaus realizes for the first time since landing that he's indoors. A glance out of a floor-to-ceiling window shows a sweeping cityscape. He is very high up. He files that away as a problem for later.

"I'm, uh, Number Four. Klaus. Hargreeves," He clarifies, voice raspy.

The man has an odd expression on his face. He doesn't address the number Klaus has put before his own name, and he doesn’t seem to recognize the infamous Hargreeves name. "Hey, Klaus Hargreeves. I'm Tony Stark. Uh, I’m just gonna trust that you’re not gonna try and kill me, alright?" The man, Tony, Klaus registers, gestures to the briefcase still clutched in Klaus’s arms. “Whatcha got there, pal?”

“Fuckin’... briefcase,” Klaus mumbles absently. He decides that he’s had enough of the damn thing. Klaus stands up clumsily and extends a weak arm. The briefcase hangs between them, a tentative olive branch. Blood darkens its surface. 

Tony reaches out and gingerly takes the case. He makes to flip the latches open, but Klaus stumbles forward. “No!” He waves his arms a bit for emphasis. Tony looks adequately befuddled. “Don’t! Open it, I mean.” Tony stares at him. Klaus shrinks in on himself a little. “It’s bad. It’ll, uh. Time travel bullshit.”

Tony decides not to question it. 

"Sure, okay. No problem." Tony mutters something under his breath, and his eyes go a little unfocused as he stares at the briefcase. It looks like he's reading something, Klaus thinks. Maybe it's the glasses? Who knows how far forwards in time he travelled. "Huh, okay. That's… odd. FRIDAY, remind me to take a closer look at that thing later." 

He turns back to Klaus, who is standing, unsure. Tear tracks stain his face. He looks so small.

Tony sighs. "FRIDAY, keep an eye on our friend here, yeah?"

A disembodied voice floats from above. "Sure, boss." Klaus glances up. He is too tired to ask. Big Brother is watching, his mind supplies, and he huffs a halfhearted laugh. 

Tony flaps a hand at him. "Come on, up we go. Let's, uh, get you in a bath," punctuated by a pointed glance at Klaus's crusty fatigues, "And we'll deal with you tomorrow. Maybe you'll be up for some questions then, hm?" Tony speaks brashly, but his voice is light and his face is kind. It's clear that he doesn't expect a response, so Klaus follows him through the building wordlessly. It appears that Tony is fond of rambling, much like Klaus himself, if the circumstances were different. Klaus lets the voice ground him. 

Tony leads him to a pristine white bathroom. It's huge, and Klaus feels out of place. Tony bustles around, gathering towels and toiletries, turning faucets, and setting aside soaps, talking all the while as Klaus watches. Tony’s being exceptionally kind, Klaus thinks, considering that he just found Klaus in his living room, bloodied and beaten, a few minutes ago. He wonders why.

“Alright, I’m done here,” Tony says some time later, when the tub is filled and the room is steamy. “There’s a bedroom down the hall to your right, do your worst. Just ask FRIDAY if you need anything. She’ll get me if it’s urgent.” Klaus nods. He’s very tired.

Tony leaves, shutting the door behind him, and Klaus strips and climbs into the bathtub. The water is warm, and he sits and soaks for a while. 

-

Tony is so preoccupied with his thoughts about Klaus that he almost sets his workshop on fire. It’s DUM-E’s moment to shine. As he cleans fire extinguisher goop off of himself, he wonders how Klaus is doing. He admits that having some random guy show up in a flash of blue light never ends well, but Klaus looked so sad. And if he sabotages Tony and takes over the world, well, that… would be unfortunate, but not entirely unexpected. He just hopes it doesn’t come to that. Pepper would kick his ass. 

Tony’s taken Klaus in with his fair share of hospitality, granted he doesn’t know anything about the guy, but then again, he’s always had a penchant for collecting strays. What’s one more? Tony’s not a complete idiot, surprise surprise, so he’s obviously already done an extensive background check on Klaus. It yielded nothing. No traces of him ever existing. It’s a little disconcerting, but that’s something to address at a later time. 

He doesn’t have security cameras in the bathroom, because that would be creepy and invasive, but FRIDAY’s surveillance is never lax. For emergencies, that kind of thing. He’s had his own fair shares of… unsavory situations. 

So when FRIDAY alerts him to Klaus’s vitals, the notice blaring red on his holograms, his breath catches in his chest. Klaus’s heartbeat is worryingly high. Whatever’s going on can’t be good.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i went to camp for two weeks without service,, i know this chapter is. short af but i wanted to get something posted lol

Klaus runs. 

Helicopters whirr overhead, and the patter of machine gun fire welcomes him home. Shouts echo from all directions. The air smells like ash and blood. 

Klaus stumbles over bodies, trips through ghosts. “Dave? Dave! Where are you?” His eyes fill with tears, and he blinks them away. He steps through a rotting rib cage, and it sends him sprawling. 

He blinks, and he is tied in a dreadfully familiar motel room, masked figures standing over him. He screams through the gag and squeezes his eyes closed as the familiar burn of a lighter flame caresses his bicep.

He blinks, and he’s in a Saigon bar, sweaty bodies packed tight, downing shots one after the other.

Blink. Dad’s funeral, Luther shouting and Ben’s statue cracked on the ground. Mom’s horrible blank expression.

Blink. Shaking hands spilling pills, pure white powder in tiny baggies, track marks on both arms. The thud of a defibrillator set to a background of sirens. 

Blink. Cold stone walls, a locked and barred door, and vengeful spirits screaming in his ears. Pale blue hands clawing at his face, blood and organs dripping in his hair. 

Blink.

When he opens his eyes again, he’s next to Dave. Klaus beams at him, admires the way the sun shines through his hair, traces the curve of his jawline. Dave grins back. Kisses him, calls him his, calls him Lucky. Dave, his sweet boy, who always sees the best in him. Dave, who he did nothing to deserve. Dave whom he loves. 

Dave, who is lying, skin pale, eyes wide, with a bullet in his chest. 

And Klaus breaks.

-

The bathroom door is locked. Tony acknowledges in the back of his mind that this is logical, everyone locks the bathroom door, right? Especially in a stranger’s house. Still, it’s worrying. Tony knocks, and when there is no response, does the only thing his adrenaline-soaked brain thinks of.

The door crashes off its hinges to reveal a shaking Klaus curled up in the bathtub. 

“Ah, shit, okay. Fuck...” Tony mumbles to himself, running a hand through his hair. He is so not equipped for this kind of situation. Normally when this happens to him, Rhodey or Pepper talks him down, but there’s no way in hell he can do that. Expressing emotions is like eating glass. Defense tactic, probably, but situations like these make him curse his lack of emotional intelligence. He has no clue what to do. He also may be hyperventilating, just a little bit. Fuck. 

He kneels next to the tub. Klaus is moaning and thrashing around, spilling soapy water onto Tony’s jeans. Tony reaches out a hand and tentatively touches Klaus’s shoulder. 

“Klaus?” He asks. Klaus whispers something. Tony strains to hear it. He pats Klaus on the cheek, trying to wake him. “Klaus!”

Klaus shoots upright in the water, wide eyes staring at empty space. He breathes heavily. 

“Are you okay?” Tony asks gently. Klaus whips around to look at him. More soap suds spill over porcelain edges. 

“Who the fuck are you?” He asks, voice rough. “Where’s Dave?” 

Tony coughs awkwardly. “I’m, uh, Tony, remember? You’re in the Avengers Tower. It’s 2019.”

“Tony Stark, right,” Klaus sighs, slumping into the water. 

Only to sit up again a second later. “Did you say 2019?” He demands. “What the fuck!”

Uh. Tony’s not sure what’s happening. “...Is something wrong?” He prods. 

Klaus throws his hands up. Water flies through the air. Tony catches a glimpse of tattooed palms. “Goddammit. What’s the date?” 

“Uh. FRIDAY?”

“It’s July 24, boss.”

Klaus slumps back again. “Fuck.” He swivels his head to look at Tony, looking world-weary. “Tell me, have you ever heard of some plucky little kids, go by the name of the Umbrella Academy?” 

“Um, no? Should I know what that is?” 

The only answer Klaus gives is a long, slow, blink and a sigh. He leans back, bracing his arms against the sides of the bathtub, and closes his eyes. 

Tony watches as tears slip out from under thick lashes and drip into murky water. 

-

Later, when Klaus is snoring away in an empty bedroom, Tony does some digging. 

The mysterious briefcase is laid out on a table in front of him. The leather is stained with blood and dirt. It smells putrid, like old socks packed with sulfur and dog shit. Bits of who-knows-what flake off of the sides at every touch. 

Tony gets gloves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> schools starting!! can i get a wahoo
> 
> so updates will be slower im sorry

**Author's Note:**

> the title for this in my google docs is yogurt, but just barely. 
> 
> if you liked it, leave a comment and kudo. ily all


End file.
